88 THE TRAGEDIES OF THE NESTS. 



favorite place is the fork of a sapling, eight or ten 

 feet from the ground, where it falls an easy prey to 

 every nest-robber that comes prowling through the 

 woods and groves. It is not a bird that skulks and 

 hides, like the cat-bird, the brown-thrasher, the chat, 

 or the cheewink, and its nest is not concealed with the 

 same art as theirs. Our thrushes are all frank, open- 

 mannered birds ; but the veery and the hermit build 

 upon the ground, where they at least escape the crows, 

 owls, and jays, and stand a better chance to be over- 

 looked by the red squirrel and weasel also ; while the 

 robin seeks the protection of dwellings and out-build- 

 ings. For years I have not known the nest of a wood- 

 thrush to succeed. During the season referred to I 

 observed but two, both apparently a second attempt, 

 as the season was well advanced, and both failures. 

 In one case, the nest was placed in a branch that an 

 apple-tree, standing near a dwelling, held out over the 

 highway. The structure was barely ten feet above the 

 middle of the road, and would just escape a passing 

 load of hay. It was made conspicuous by the use of a 

 large fragment of newspaper in its foundation an 

 unsafe material to build upon in most cases. What- 

 ever else the press may guard, this particular news- 

 paper did not guard this nest from harm. It saw the 

 egg and probably the chick, but not the fledgeling. A 

 murderous deed was committed above the public high- 

 way, but whether in the open day or under cover of 

 darkness I have no means of knowing. The frisky 

 red squirrel was doubtless the culprit. The other 



